Tag: Black History Month

Black History Month is an opportunity to re-examine one’s understanding of U.S. history and recognize the countless achievements Black visionaries have made. Because Oklahoma was originally Indian Territory, it has a complex and rich past unlike any other state in the nation. “Many historians don’t want to say their state’s history is unique,” says Larry O’Dell, historian and director of...

This year marks the 100th anniversary of a crimson blot on Tulsa’s, Oklahoma’s, and America’s history – the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31-June 1, 1921, one of the worst explosions of racial violence the country has ever seen. Many people outside of our area first became aware of this horrific event only last year, when the HBO alternative-history series...

Take yourself back to the last decade of the 19th century, in what would become the state of Oklahoma – which was then divided roughly in half into Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. The area was still reeling from the consequences of the Civil War and the forced placement of Native tribes.  Outlaws and desperados took advantage of this reality...

“I didn’t know a writer lived inside of me.” Clifton Taulbert’s words at first seem strange – coming as they do from an internationally recognized author and Pulitzer Prize nominee. But as he speaks about the power of community in his life, it becomes clear that the inspiration for his stories began many years ago, when Taulbert was a child,...